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The Obama Administration has made the process of initiating petitions easier than ever. Just log into this site and you are on your way. Once you get enough people (150) to "sign" the petition will be part of a search-able database. That makes it easier to gather even more "signatures". If your petition breaks 25,000 signatures there will be a formal response. There are some really interesting ideas there. For example, there is the matter of Piers Morgan. Piers Morgan came out in favor of gun control on CNN.

The odd way he talks is a dead giveaway, but the thing is Piers Morgan is British. Somebody British talking about taking away our guns. Shades of Lexington and Concord. "To arms to arms. The British are coming".

Robert Baty's petition to repeal Code Section 107, which allows "ministers of the gospel" to exclude housing allowances from taxable income, only has 47 signatures so it is not search-able yet. It needs another 103. I find the petitions that concern taxes are not all that satisfying. It is understandable why over 40,000 people would like the exempt status of Westboro Baptist Church revoked. Then there is the petition to: Establish a flat federal income tax!Simple, understandable, enforceable, and fair. That one is just over 8,000. I've figured out how the administration could answer that one if it breaks 25,000 - Easier, said than done. The rest are kind of random like inviting Ron Paul to the White House for a policy meeting.

Let's Give It A Shot

It is rather odd that the large number of tax policy recommendations that we see in the tax blogosphere do not currently have petitions associated with them. Why is there not a petition about "carried interest" ? Some experts argue the adminstration could actually address "carried interest" by regulation. Personally, I don't find "carried interest" all that upsetting so I am not going to start a petition on it, but there are certainly others who could. Here is my proposition to you. If any of my readers let me know about a tax petition that has a reasonably tight focus, such as Bob's petiition on clergy housing allowances, I will write a post on the petition to give it a better chance of gaining signatures. For whatever it is worth, I will indicate whether I will be signing it. If it is a tax cutting petition, I will be more inclined to view it favorably if it includes some sort of offset. It is fine to say we should get rid of the AMT. But then what ?

So start drafting your petitions. By the way while you are on the site, be sure to sign the Restroom Access petition. Someday you will be old and understand its importance. Trust me.